Blessed.

As a Christian, You are blessed. 

You may have had a bad day...or month....or even years, but that doesn't change anything. We had eternity to look forward to, in Heaven with God! He has graciously and mercifully forgiven us, sparing us from the punishment we deserve. We can always thank Him for this! 

This is the nature of our Christian life. We can know daily how much He loves us. If one was to compare themselves to Christ, who we follow, we have much to be grateful for! 

Jesus was homeless during His ministry(1). He was regularly tested, facing hunger, thirst, beatings, and loss of clothing while He was killed. He was cruelly mocked. Upon His death, He took the punishment of all humanity upon Himself willingly. This included being separated from God for a time. 

Your worst day in life probably doesn't look like this.

Ask yourself -

 Do I have a home?

 Health?

 Food? 

Clothes?

People who love me? 

Give thanks to God for what you do have -it came from Him(2)! 

We have so much to be grateful for, even excited about our future! Those who love Him and follow Him will be able to spend eternity with Him! 

Why then want? He cares for us, so don't worry(3). Remember to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you(4) - God comes first in life. 

This is the nature of our Christian life; We can live joyously, knowing our future is secure with Him, and telling others the Good News of Christ!

Interested in Christianity? The Gospel in a Nutshell can be a good place to start! And Church of course :)

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Bible Verses cited:

(1.) Luke 9:58 ESV

"And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”"

(2.) James 1:17 ESV 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

(3.) Matthew 6:34 ESV

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

(4.) Matthew 6:33 ESV

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Hope in Crisis

(Note: This is a follow up on the topic covered here -Why does God let bad things happen?)

 What is your hope in Crisis? How do you respond?

Really think about it - Some readers may know how they respond; others not as much.

We don't have to fear - or even worry! Death is not the end for followers of Christ! We are to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and He takes care of us. (Matthew 6:25-33)

Matthew 6:25-33 ESV

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

This is an amazing truth. The longer you walk with God, and the more you see in life of how true this is. 

God loves us - whatever hardships we may be going through now, they will cease. Remember that life is a journey Heaven bound - when we die, we exchange the pains of this life for eternity with our Creator who loves us immensely.

If you are in a crisis - or even not - keep this at the forefront of your thoughts. We can fearlessly live - and more importantly, proclaim Christ to others. 

  Matthew 22:37 ESV

"And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. "

This is the first of the two greatest commandments I think for a reason. Literally everything else in life follows this - When you place God first, your life has focus. You realize the meaning of life, and how to live it. Furthermore, you realize that life does not end when you die, but just begins! Love becomes the focus of life. (The Gospel in a nutshell) 

And because of this love, we as Christians can be empowered to tell others about Christ, and how much God loves people. (See Should you share the Gospel?)

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In His Timing

We have all been there. You feel the pressure of the situation, everything seems to be hanging by a thread, yet you can do nothing except pray God helps you (not that this is insignificant).  

You then wait on God. Who sometimes doesn't do things when you want them done. 

I write this post to be encouraging to my Christian family. We all have to learn this at some point in time or another, but learning to wait on God is crucial. 

In time, maybe you learn this when you are young, or maybe when you are older, but you come to the realization that He will take care of you in His perfect timing. 

It has begun to occur to me over the last several years this valuable lesson - God loves you, and will care for you (Please see Matt 6:25-34) . That He is not ignoring you. And what you so earnestly ask from Him may be met with an answer of 'Wait', or 'no'. That He answers prayer in His timing. 

Remember that we approach in prayer the One by His voice created the heavens and the earth, and has kept them running since the dawn of time. 

What you ask for in prayer may be a good thing by itself, but harmful in your situation now.  We have to trust when we pray to God that He knows best for us. 

Romans 8:28 ESV 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." 

Pain is temporary. Even if we are faced with death, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ*. As true believers, we are heaven bound and are blessed beyond measure to live knowing that will get to spend eternity with He who created us. 

Praise God! 

*Romans 8:31-39 ESV

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.